How to Prepare Logical Reasoning for CLAT 2022.
CLAT 2020 will have around 30-35 questions in the logical reasoning section. Although the exam has gone through a complete makeover, this section has not changed much.
The one noteworthy part of the change in this section is that every question will now be based on comprehension. So, the topics will be the same as before but instead of simple questions, there will be a passage to read and based on which there will be questions.
This raises the difficulty of this section since the time required to solve each question goes up by a few minutes due to the passage.
Topics in Logical Reasoning
This section will test your ability to understand and analyse a given set of data and then applying the set of steps (generally mathematical) to arrive at an answer.
The questions may come from puzzles, blood relations, syllogisms, number series, analogy and more. The idea is to solve most questions in less amount of time with maximum accuracy.
A list of topics for this section is given below.
- Syllogisms
- Blood Relations
- Directions
- Ranking
- Logical sequences
- Number Test
- Statement Assumptions/ Conclusions/ Arguments/Actions
- Coding-Decoding
- Verbal Reasoning
- Arrangements
- Calendar
This is not an exhaustive list of topics but an indicative list, CLAT has been known to ask questions out of this list on many occasions.
However, for the sake of a syllabus to this section, this list works. The aspirants can practise according to these topics and practice questions from the listed topics.
In order to prepare well and score good in this section, the candidate needs to practice as much as they can. No amount of theoretical understanding of this subject can ensure good marks in this section.
It all depends on who has solved the most number and types of questions.
Why is logical reasoning important?
It is important that a candidate spends a substantial part of his preparation on logical reasoning. The main reason is that other examinations which are the gateway to law colleges like SLAT, LSAT etc have extensive logical reasoning sections. Some exams focus the most on logical reasoning.
The idea behind having a section on logical reasoning in the CLAT paper is to test the analytical skills of the candidate and her ability to process information and render informative data.
A robust preparation regime is required to score well in this section. For students who aim to enter top NLUs, a score above 27 is required. Also, the candidate should solve this section in record time, ideally, this section should not take more than 20-25 minutes.
How to prepare logical reasoning
While there is no secret shortcut to the preparation regime, the below-given points come in handy to make the preparation effective and efficient.
- Modules: It is important that the candidate solves each and every chapter that the module has to offer. Modules are made after a careful study of CLAT pattern and therefore contain topics which frequent the CLAT paper. Ideally, a candidate should spend an hour on the modules while preparing for CLAT with a year of time in hand. Do the math and adjust the preparation time according to the total time available. It should not go below 45 minutes or above 2.5 hours a day.
- Practice: This section requires practice to conquer. The number of questions that you deal with decides whether you will be able to solve the CLAT paper. If you get surprised by the patter of the question, it is highly unlikely that you will be able to solve it without wasting precious time. So solve as many questions as you can.
- Past year papers: Reiterating what I said in the above paragraphs, solve past year papers to get hold of the pattern which CLAT follows. The CLAT paper will not deviate much if you have solved the past 10 years of paper and have command on each and every topic. If you choose to leave out a topic in this section, it can cost you dearly. It is possible that you skip syllogism and in the CLAT paper, 7 questions pop from syllogism.
- Reference books: Considering that you have some time at hand to prepare for CLAT. You should get your hands on reference books for logical reasoning. The reason is the key to scoring well, the number of questions you solve, the more types of questions you deal with. It lowers the chance of you being surprised by the questions in the CLAT paper. This way, once you see the question, you already know how you have to proceed to solve it.
How to tackle this section in CLAT
This section can be attempted right after the Current Affairs and GK section is solved. Since there is a need to solve questions based on your reasoning skills, the sooner you solve these, the less stressed your brain is while solving these questions (Some might choose to solve quantitative techniques before this and that is fine too).
While solving this section, note the following
- Read the questions well. Make sure you understand what the question asked. Most of the times, the answer will jump out of your mind as soon as you finish reading the questions.
- In some questions like floor puzzles or blood relations etc, you might need to draw a diagram, ALWAYS DRAW A DIAGRAM. Do not depend on your imagination to reach a conclusion. Most of the times you will be missing a variable, therefore always draw a diagram.
First published on June 10, 2020.